Insanity 2
by Super Ninja Cupcakes
Summary: The second in my series, where i am getting used to being a she-weasel in the somewhat dramatic world of ice age. rated T for violence and some bad words.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

One month, that's how long it had been since I had been in the ice age. One happy, fun-filled month with my herd. One of the best months of my life, I met new friends, and one in particular had good intentions, an eating disorder, and bad taste in men.

"Leave me alone!" I screamed, tears welling up in my eyes.

"Just give me one more chance! Please!" Cameron begged, falling on his knees.

"Go to hell." I hissed. I usually never cursed, but this was the last straw. Without another word I turned my back on him and walked away. He had cheated for the last time. Yeah, he did it more than once. I should have seen it coming the day Sophie introduced me to him.

FLASHBACK

"Come on! He's a great guy." Sophie whined.

"No." I answered shortly.

"Grrr."

"Okay, first of all, no. B, that's about as intimidating as the name Sheldon."

"Meet him."

"No."

"I swear to god I will."

"You'll what?"

Sophie stuck her index finger two inches from my face, "I'm not touching you, I'm not touching you, I'm not touching you…" she continued.

"That's really grown up Soph." she didn't stop. "Fine I'll meet him, god."

Sophie jumped up and down and clapped, "Yay, I'll set it up."

END OF FLASHBACK

"Sophie, I gotta tell ya honey, you got great taste in men." I groaned sarcastically. "I have to get away for a while, maybe see how things are doing on the other side of the valley."

"Sis, I hear ya, we all need to take a break every now and again." Sophie answered, sounding not the least bit phased by my comment. She was helpful, and supportive, sorta like Ellie.

"Yeah, I hate drama."

"Now I heard that with my bad ear."

"Why does life have to be such a- word you can't say in front of Peaches?"

"Ha, I don't know girl, but it needs to quit."

"Yeah it does, that's why I'm leaving tomorrow, and I am not coming back for at least a week."

"I won't miss ya."

"I feel the warmth inside." I said sarcastically. Sophie patted my shoulder,

"Yeah… Well have a safe trip."

"Don't die."

"Love you too."

"Goodbye Sophie."

"Seeya Red."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The next day, I informed the herd about what had happened, and how I was going to see how the other side of the valley. No one asked questions, except Peaches, things like, 'Where are you going?" and "When will you be back?" and my _favorite, _"Why?" Yep, I love the kid, but she can be irritating. Yeah, I didn't know either.

By now it was October, and it was, naturally, getting colder. Everyone in this part of the valley knew me; even those rodents who were "Afraid of weasels" were friends with me. Some of my best were the kids, I babysat whenever I could, all the parents were grateful. I always played and had fun with them, they liked me. No surprise. I mean, I have always been good with kids.

After a bit, it started snowing, hard. I was used to such, I knew what to do. Find a cave, start a fire, wait till morning… or whenever the snow stopped. Anyway, I did so, lucky me, because there was a nice one not too far off from where I was. I only hoped that nobody had the same idea as me.

Another lucky spin. The cave was empty, and there was a dead tree a little ways away from there, so I could probably make a fire. Once I got one going, I got into one of those, looking at the fire trances. Suddenly, I felt a draft; I licked my finger, and held it up. The strangest thing was that it was coming from the opposite direction from the entrance to the cave.

"If the universe is screwin' with me right now…" I started, picking up a stick that was flaming at the end. "Please do not be kidding." and I walked deeper into the cave. It only took ten minutes before I saw light, "_hey, I got all week." _I thought, entering exactly what I figured, Dinotopia. You heard me. As in, Buck, Rudy, mortal peril, that Dinotopia. Okay, now I was excited. "Sweet sister Frances." I said. My eyes were wide, and my heart was pounding. "Oh my god, oh my god… OH MY FREEKIN' GOD!" I yelled. I could see pterodactyls, and if my eyes weren't playing jokes on my little blonde mind, I saw buck on one of them! I felt like _such _a teenaged girl, getting all excited, but come on! This was Dinotopia!

_The bright side to my yelling was I got Buck's attention._ The bad side was I may have sort of, woken up a creepy-looking bright green lizard... thing… maybe. Okay I did what of it? At least I didn't get eaten! Well, duh. Anyway, Buck's head turned my way, but I barely noticed. My attention was directed towards the, uh, dinosaur. It slithered towards me, hungry eyed, drooling a bit. I winced, _what a way to go! Eaten by… okay I don't know what this thing is! _I thought miserably, _wait a cotton pickin' minute! I can take this thing- oh gosh, look at those teeth! _I stepped back, feeling something touch my foot, a stick. _Well I won't die a coward! _I thought, picking up the stick and getting into a fighter's stance. The creature lunged at me. I swung the stick at it, and to my disbelief, I actually hit it! It went down, but came directly back up. "Oh, come on!" It looked angry… bad!

Before I knew what was happening, I was literally flying, on a pterodactyl, with Buck. WHAT THE HECK? I had no idea.

"Buck!" Buck said abruptly, shaking my hand as he did so. "Short for Buckminster, long for buh." by this time we had landed. He sniffed me, examined my ears, and looked me over.

"Charmed. I'm Suzan, Suzy for short, Suze for shorter." I answered, returning the handshake. "And I've heard of you, Buck." He looked confused. "Crash and Eddie never stop talking about you, how awesome you are, how you saved Sid," he still looked confused, "The floppy green thing." now he remembers…

"Oh, oh, I remember now, that strange little herd that came down here once." he smiled, in kind of a, how do I describe it? The look you get when you hear someone misses you, and you previously believed they didn't. "They really talk about me?"

"Yeah, all the time, they miss you like crazy." I said truthfully. "The boys tell little Peaches bedtime stories about you, and even Manny misses you."

Buck looked as if he'd cry, "Huh… so you live with them?"

"Yeah, I do, I'm kinda their newest addition. I moved in with them after…" I stopped, I hadn't had to act sad and pained for a while, a test of my acting skills.

"After…" he motioned for me to continue.

"After the fire." I said quietly, hanging my head. Buck was silent. After a minute or two, I lifted up my head. Surprised is how he looked, shocked, dumbfounded. Tears threatened, I held them back. "My friend Ray brought me to them right after it happened. My plan was to actually go back to that side of the valley for a week, see how things are there. Then this stupid blizzard happened, that's how I ended up fighting off… whatever that thing was. Well, it's not that bad, good thing you were around, or else I would be dino-chow." I laughed.

"That's tourists for ya." he said, "Always getting into trouble." he grinned, not in a mean way, in a purely happy way. That didn't faze me. I knew what he meant, and anyway, he was sort of _eccentric. _"Well, are you goanna die out here or do you want to get home?" Buck asked, his face turning serious.

"Well, perhaps, if you wouldn't mind…"

"All right, but I got rules." he started; I stood up straight and gave a sharp nod. "Rule number one, always listen to Buck! Rule number two, stay in the middle of the path! Rule number three… well, rule number three isn't important. Rule number four, he who starts seeing things shall get his head examined." he finished.

"Yes sir!" I said, saluting him like a soldier.

"Well, now that that's cleared up, it'll take about two days to get you home, so we better get going." I was very confused, we weren't that far from the cliff where I had come in. then I realized, it was way too tall to climb, and there were no pterodactyls near where we were now. "Come on, chop chop."

We started off in some direction away from where the cliff was, and it was silent, except for bugs and dinos and the occasional roar. I was walking beside Buck, about a foot away from him; I didn't dare come any closer.

"So, Buck, wont your pineapple be worried about you?" I asked nonchalantly.

"Nah," he waved a dismissing hand, "We got a divorce some time ago, and she ran off with that blasted broccoli."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I never liked broccoli much either." I said.

"Yeah, all mushy and green. Yuck."

"I'm a vegetarian and I don't like it." I laughed.

Buck looked at me funny, "A what?"

"It means I don't eat meat." I explained.

"Oh, I see." there was another long silence, not an awkward one, but an "I don't know what to say so I'm goanna listen to bugs" one.

_This is goanna be a fun week. _I thought to myself, smiling dreamily. I could only imagine what mortal peril was in store for us.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Author's note: Here it is! Chapter three! Sooo sorry I can't update as much as I want, I have no internet at my house. Aaaaanyways, happy readings!

"So, how'd you get here?" I asked staring at the fire I had started.

"Well, I uh…" Buck looked down, and he looked sad.

"If you don't want to say, I won't ask." I assured him. I didn't want to make him talk about anything he didn't feel comfortable talking about. I didn't like it when those stupid school counselors did it to me, so why should I do it to anyone else?

"Thanks." Buck said; I could hear the relief in his voice, which made me feel good, that he was relieved. I didn't want him feeling uncomfortable around me; I wanted to be friends with him while I was here… and maybe even, no. I shook away the thoughts. He'd never leave, but maybe I could come and visit him, he must get lonely down there.

Buck was arguing with some skulls, and this is just about how it happened:

Buck: I will too get her back unharmed!

Skull 1: No you won't.

Skull 2: Yeah, he's a lunatic, and his feet smell like rudy's hind end!

Buck: Shut up!

Skull 1: Well your mother's a ferret!

Buck: Why you little-

Me: Hey, he can't talk to you like that! Get 'im Buck!

Skull 2: Hey, no fan interference!

Me: Oh shut up you lousy excuse for a fossil!

And with that, he took down both of the skulls, it was funny to watch. I giggled a bit when he started strangling skull number two, "Okay Buck, he's had enough." I really was just hungry, but Buck seemed to buy it pretty good.

"You're lucky; the female saved your life!" Buck said, poking the skull where its nose would be.

I laughed, "Yeah, and from what I can tell im about to save yours, you need to eat something." and at that moment, the best possible time, his stomach growled! I know, it was the funniest thing, I almost busted out laughing.

"Alright, mammal, you've got me there." Buck put his hands in the air like he'd been caught with marijuana. "Do you have any other talents besides trash-talk?"

I shrugged, and smiled a little, "A few, I can cook if that's what you're getting at." he smiled._ I guess I'm cooking tonight_, I thought, good thing I wasn't lying about that part.

"Well, I'm going fishin', could you keep the fire going? I won't be gone long. Oh, and those fruits aren't poisoned." he pointed to a tree with some yellow fruits on it. "I'll be right back, don't die." he said happily, that reminded me of me and Sophie's conversation right before I left.

"I'll be alive." I answered, picking up sticks for the fire. Buck grabbed a vine and swung off to catch his meal. I laughed out loud when I heard him yelling his famous, 'buck intro' battle cry, I loved that part. I suddenly felt like singing, just because. So I started on my favorite song while I broke up sticks and put them into the fire.

_When darkness falls upon your heart and soul,_

_I'll be the light that shines for you._

_When you forget how beautiful you are,_

_I'll be there to remind you._

_When you can't find your way, _

_I'll find my way to you._

_When troubles come around,_

_I will come to you._

_I'll be your shoulder, when you need someone to lean on._

_Be your shelter_

_When you need someone to see you through,_

_I'll be there to carry you._

_I'll be there._

_I'll be the rock that will be strong for you,_

_` The one that will hold on to you._

_When you feel that rain falling' down,_

_When there's nobody else around,_

_I'll be."_

I finished there; I knew Buck would be back soon, so I just wanted to stay quiet. That song reminded me of my herd, and my human mom, I missed her.

"Wow, you weren't kidding' when you said you had other talents." I was taken aback at the sound of Buck's voice, he was behind me, and I hadn't even noticed. Either I was deaf or he was just stealthy.

"Oh, thanks, you do too… fishing; fighting, hunting, and you can trash talk pretty good yourself." I wasn't usually one to take complements without giving one in return. I was beet red, under my fur that is, because I was _very_ embarrassed that I'd been caught singing.

"Nah, I coud'a done better at that, but I didn't want to curse in front of a lady. My mum raised me better." Buck chuckled a little after that.

"Well, thank you. I didn't think you the gentleman type." I regretted saying that! Why did I? It was so rude.

"Well, I'm not really, just courteous." Buck responded nonchalantly, he didn't seem offended at all, and I was thankful for that. He got started gutting and cleaning the fish, while I picked a few of those fruits off the tree, and looked for some things that could assist me while cooking the fish for Buck. I found two large flat stones and some good sticks that, when put together correctly, would serve as a good surface to cook on.

"Okay, I think I can use this for cooking now." I said, once I was finally satisfied with my sticks and stones project.

"Right, well I got the grub ready." buck said happily, handing me the fish. It felt disgusting, but I wasn't about to complain. I set the fish down on the first stone, and set up my frying-pan like contraption over the fire, and then I proceeded to put the fish on.

"You can eat now if you like." Buck said, sounding a little surprised for some odd reason.

"No, you're not the only one whose mama raised 'em right. I'm waiting until you can eat before I do, it's the least I can do." I said politely, with a hint of stubbornness in my tone.

Buck didn't argue, he just started carving I piece of wood. The fish didn't take long at all to cook, a lot faster than _I_ thought it would. I didn't have very much at all to work with when it came to spicing it. Nothing really, just some wild herbs that I figured would help; after Buck assured me they weren't poisoned anyway.

"Soup's on!" I announced once the food was ready. "Hungry Buckminster?" I asked, kind of sounding like my mother when she asked, "Hungry Asia Nicole?"

"Starved." he answered, serving himself.

"Okay, do you want to say grace or shall I?" I asked.

"Say what?" Buck gave me a funny look.

"Say, grace…" I repeated, folding my hands like I do when I pray.

Buck still looked a little confused. Then it hit me, maybe back in the ice age they weren't all that religious, so I decided to just demonstrate.

"Okay, fold your hands like me," I instructed, Buck put down his fish and did as he was told. "Now bow your head." again, he did as I said. "God is great, god is good. Let us thank him for our food. By his hands we are fed, give us lord our daily bread. Amen." I finished, sitting down. "You can eat now." I informed him, he looked hungrier, now.

"Thanks, I get it now. My family used to do the same at supper time, and before we ate any meal." Without saying anything else, he started eating.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

I woke up the next morning to yelling and cursing and the sound of giant, angry footsteps. I knew Buck was insane, but I didn't know he was _that_ loony. Yeah, somehow he had managed to find Rudy, and invite him over for breakfast…

"Hide, in… the… trees!" Buck yelled, between being slung around by the colossal dino, and I was **not** about to argue.

I ran into the trees, not too far though to see the fight. I watched every move. Buck scared me a few times, almost getting killed, barely missing Rudy's long, sharp claws. Every time he looked like he'd be dead, he would get out of it. In the end, Rudy got his butt handed to him, of course. After Buck was finished with the dino, he came running over to me.

"Are you alright?" I asked, as if I had to.

"I'm fine, come on we gotta go, he's not gonna be tied up for long." he grabbed my arm and led me farther into the jungle.

"Holey Moses, Buck. How'd you do all that?" I asked, sounding like Crash and Eddie.

Buck chuckled a bit, "Years of experience, Suzy cue." he said nonchalantly.

I blushed bright red under the cream colored spot on my face, (my fur pattern was a lot like Buck's) had he just called me Suzy cue? A cute nickname, but I usually only blushed at that kind of thing if it was from a guy I- never mind that.

"Well, it was awesome, I see why the twins go on and on about you all the time." I smiled, "They _really _miss you." I stressed that part. I guess I was being a rat, using a guilt-trip on Buck. But hey, it was the truth.

"Really?" He looked surprised.

"Of course, they all do."

"Hm, that's a first."

I looked even more surprised, "What?" I asked, baffled.

Buck looked embarrassed, "Oh, nothing. I just, im not used to it, that's all." I could tell he didn't feel like talking about it, but I was just so curios…

"Not used to it? What you don't have any family, besides the herd?"

Buck winced a little, "Not that I know of."

"Oh, did you get separated with them?" I asked, this was an opening to lie to me and end the discussion, witch is the soul reason I said it. I mean, Buck looked as if he was at his child's funeral, and I didn't want to press the subject.

"Um, no not exactly, I went off to live on my own when I got old enough, and I lost contact with them. That's when I came down here, so I'm not sure if they're alive."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked, it's really none of my busyness." I felt horrible, like a moron too. "_He must hate me." _I thought miserably.

"S'all right, I'm okay to talk about anything you are. But if its okay, I'd rather not…"

"Okay, I get it. I'm like Diego; I don't usually _talk_ much less about such personal stuff." I said, laughing a little.

"Yeah, that's what makes me worry if he'll ever get a mate." Buck said, seeming to have fully recovered from the awkwardness.

"Hey, maybe, a pack of sabers live a little ways from us, and Diego's friends with them. Sid and I are trying to play match-makers with him and Jillian; she's another saber from the pack. She's the first one he met too."

"Hm, am I invited to the wedding?" Buck asked, but he sounded oddly like he was kidding.

"If they get together. And hey, I don't have a date." why in god's name did I say that? I laughed, trying to cover up what I had said. "And, I'm sure Diego will want you there, and Peaches really wants to meat her uncle Buck."

Buck didn't seem fazed, "Well I'd love to, but I don't think your husband would agree." He laughed, "And I bet Peaches has grown up a lot since I saw her last."

"Oh, she has. And, I'm not married." I was embarrassed now! "It's just that, I mean, I…" a smirk crossed Buck's face, I could tell that he was trying to get back at me from earlier. "I, I'm not, I… I'm single."

"Oh, I see. Sorry, I just figured, since you've got home economics down. My apologies. Alright, we're in the jungle of misery now, so I have a new rule to introduce." I nodded for him to continue. "Okay, rule number six: don't touch anything! Understood?"

"Understood." I answered.

"Good, because if you do, you might be digested in three minutes or less by a man-eating plant." comforting.

"Good thing I'm not a man then."

"Clever, but still, rules 1 and 6."

"Always listen to Buck."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

We were about half way through the jungle of misery, and I had followed rules one and six pretty good. How couldn't I listen to Buck? I mean, come on! He was telling me the story of how he lost his eye for crying out loud!

"It's like the old saying, an eye for a tooth. A nose for a chin. A butt for a… well I don't really remember the last part, but you get the point." Buck slung his knife over his shoulder.

"Wow. That, is, AWSOMWE!" I exclaimed. He had told it with such feeling, good descriptive words, actions, and facial expressions! I could have sworn he was in my English class, Miss Dwyer. "Does it still hurt?"

"From time to time, yes. Usually though, I can't feel it at all." Buck shrugged; making his knife hit him in the head. "Ouch!" he rubbed where the knife had struck him. "Bad idea."

I stifled the urge to giggle, "Are you okay?" I asked, I sounded like a mom.

"I'm okay, mother." I knew it!

I felt the heat rise to my cheeks, "Sorry, I guess it's just my Suzy home-maker instincts coming out on me." I confessed. I was at just about that age (in my weasel form) that I would get married, have kids, and well, be a home-maker! If I were lucky enough to find the diamond in the rough I was looking for.

"Not at all, I'm happy for your kids, if and when you have some anyways."

I blushed harder, "Yeah, well, you kno-" I was cut off by two vines grabbing me, "Oh come on! That's not fair, I didn't even t-" the plant's vine wrapped around my throat and mouth as it lifted me off the ground and into its mouth, petals, whatever. Buck took immediate action, not trying to get me out of the vines grasp, that would be suicide. He jumped right into the mouth/petals of the plant with me, yelling and dodging vines at the same time. Once we were inside, buck told me to hold my breath, since the plant juice was rising fast, and dove down to cut the wires. As I sort of expected, he cut the wrong one. When he did so, the bubbles shooting from, wherever it is they shot from, (I don't know okay, I'm not a botanist!) it knocked the wind out of me. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was Buck's freaked out -and holding his breath still- face.

My eyelids fluttered open. My vision was blurry at first, but when it finally became normal, I saw buck's face, roughly two inches from mine. Had he…?

"Thank god in heaven!" Buck said, pulling away from me, "I thought you were dead!"

I sat up, still a little unbalanced, and I tasted, fish… Oh god! He _had_, oh my god! Wow. "Thanks for saving me. How did that thing know I was there?" I asked, a little frantic.

"Evolution, Suzy cue, evolution." I guess that meant the plants were getting stronger.

"Wow, evolution must hate me then!" I said on a weak laugh.

"Maybe. Who knows, maybe one day weasels will be smaller." I nearly cracked up! He had just predicted exactly what happens in the future! Prehistoric weasels dwarf present day weasels. At least that's what I've read.

"Hm, maybe." was all I said. Buck and I were still fairly close to each other, and I was staring, whether or not I realized it.

I suddenly realized just how, _handsome_ Buck really was. Wait, exactly _what_ was I thinking? I mean, sure I _maybe _liked him, and sure we were presumably the same age, and the only thing separating us was that he lived in Dinotopia… I forgot the bad side of it all, but still!

"Do you think you can go any farther today? It'll be sundown soon." Buck sounded a little concerned, that made me feel good.

"Yeah I'm sure I can go until sundown." I started to stand up, but I guess my balance was still off, 'because I fell backwards. Well, I would have if Buck hadn't caught me; witch only embarrassed me even more. "Thanks, just a little off, that's all."

"No problem." Buck stood up and helped me regain my balance. "Sure you're alright?"

"Yes mother." I answered playfully.

"Touché, Suzanne!" Buck said, I guess the whole Suzanne thing was a bad French accent? Or maybe he was just trying to put a little pizzazz into my name? "Come on then, we got some ways to go if we want to get you home by tomorrow, or the next day."

I followed, walking close by him, didn't want a repeat of last time did we? Sure, that's why… Anyway, my feelings aside, we weren't walking that fast, I guess Buck was just being considerate.

I won't lie; I wanted it to take as long as it could to get home. Sure I missed the herd, but I still wanted to have as much time as this trip would allow with Buck. I'm just goanna be real for a second, I have always had a lil' crush on him, even before I was sent to the ice age by the I.D.C.A. who wouldn't? I did anyways, just another fan girl who dreamed of everyone's favorite deranged hermit. But now, it was real!

"Whatcha' looking at?" Buck asked. That's when I realized I was staring again. Awkward! For me at least.

"Nothing, just uh, spaced for a second there…" I stuttered, trying to think of a good excuse to be looking at him. "_Okay, so I can lie to everyone but him! No biggie, oh yeah, it is!" _I thought.

Buck smirked, and for a second I could've sworn he had read my mind! "I do that too, I usually run into trees though." he gave a thinking expression.

I giggled, "Yeah, we all do that sometimes."

*LINE*

"And after that, he was no longer a T-Rex, but a T-Rachel." Buck explained, as we sat by our campfire.

"Whoa, I bet he never had the… uh…" I blushed hard. "To mess with you again." I finished.

"Nope, never again!" Buck exclaimed happily. "He, I mean, _she_ wasn't brave enough!"

I laughed, and snorted a little, "I hope _she_ didn't want kids."

"Either way, not having any now." Buck grinned crookedly, it was cute…

"Well, that's too bad, he would make a wonderful mother!" we both rolled on the ground laughing. It made me feel nice to know that I was the only person he had ever told that story to, even if it was a little gross.

We both laid down on our backs, looking up at the ice ceiling. "Red one!" I called out, pointing at a red pterodactyl. Buck seemed to know what I was getting at.

"Blue one!" he called, pointing at a blue pterodactyl. I smiled, this was fun, and I definitely wanted it to be a regular thing!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

I was half awake the next morning, I guess it was because I was comfortable, or… I woke up (well, half woke up) in a warm spot on the ground, and I heard a quiet, yet constant, thud, thud, thud. I wondered what it was, until I was completely awake. I realized that I was cuddling Buck! I prayed to god that he hadn't woken up yet.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Buck asked, I yelped and jumped away.

"I uh, I… ern, I was- I didn't, I mean…" I stuttered. My cheeks were burning red.

Buck chuckled, "Good morning sunshine, woke up to my ugly mug huh?" he smirked.

"Ever heard the fraise love's blind? Well so are friends." I laughed, "And besides, your mug isn't ugly." I stood up, now completely awake.

"Tell that to the pineapple." Buck said, laughing a bit.

"Oh, if I could I would. She didn't know what she had." I said sincerely, I meant it too; he was a great guy for any girl lucky enough to get her hooks into him.

"Thanks, that means a lot comin' from my best mate." he stood up and cracked his spine.

If he weren't English I would have taken it differently, but, being his best friend was good enough for me. Hey, I was grateful to know him! Much less be anything more than friends. None the less, I still blushed and smiled girlishly. Yep, I finally did something girlish! It was only a matter of time!

"Well, it means a lot that I'm your best mate. And if it means two cents, you're my best mate too."

Buck looked, he looked… his expression was unexplainable, but I'll try: he looked surprised, happy, tearing up the smallest bit, and, something _really _unexplainable. I didn't know why, I mean, I'm not that special. I guess it was that I made him feel normal or something, my friends who are 'strange' tell me how I make them feel normal. I don't get insulted by that, I like weird, different, strange, normal's boring.

"Thanks, it means a lot actually." now I was shocked, I just realized, Buck seemed, _sane. _Or at least, more of his feelings were coming out. "Well, we better get going, today we cross the plates of woe."

I grinned, "Well what are we standing here for when there are plates to cross and raptor butts to kick?"

"Now you're talking, I'm up for a fight!" now there's the insanity we all know and love!

"I'll need a weapon, though." I rubbed my chin as if I were a philosopher thinking of something. Then the thought occurred to me, a sphere! I knew how to use one… don't ask. Anyway, I told Buck my idea, and he thought it was great, but it would take a while to make, perfection!

"You know anything about how to make things?" Buck asked, once we had all the things we needed.

"You insult me!" I smirked all cocky-like, "My uncle taught me how to tinker with this kind of stuff when I was seven. He was a full-on survivalist!" the truth is, I took wood shop, and dandy-Dan the menace-man taught me a few things when I lived at Togwotee mountain lodge in Wyoming.

"Great! Well, first thing, we gotta choose witch sharp object you want at the end of the sphere."

"Toughie, let's see…" I thought for a minute, "Well, I need something light-weight, but strong, and big, sharp…"

"Might I suggest, this stick, and the spinosuarus tooth." he held up a longish dino tooth and a longer stick.

"Buenos, looks like it'll make a good one." yep, I used a Spanish word.

Once we had selected the proper materials, buck and I got to work putting the sphere together. Buck taught me some new things about weapon-making, like how tar is a good way to ensure that your weapon will stay together.

"Looks good." buck said, stepping back to look at his 'masterpiece', "Betcha no dino will wanna mess with us!"

"Oh I'm sure you'll find a way." I said playfully.

"Touché again! Well, we better be goin'. After all, raptor's butts don't kick themselves!"

"Touché Buckminster!" I said in a bad French accent, with that, we set off.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"Do you speak wind?" Buck asked, as we walked across what was left of the plates of woe.

I giggled a bit, "No, but I still enjoy listening to it, sometimes it sounds like its singing."

Buck looked confused for a second, but then he gave me his usual, crooked, heart-melting grin. "Sometimes… Hey, speaking of singing…" I sure led myself into that one! "Would you sing one? My mum always said, "Any trip's better with a song"."

"Okay," I blushed, and smiled sweetly, "what kind of song?"

Buck looked like he was deep in thought for a minute, "Well, you're good at slow ones, how 'bout one of those?"

The perfect song, the best one I could possibly sing, and he had just asked me to sing it! Not specifically, but this one _was_ slow, well, kind of.

"_May the angels protect you, trouble neglect you_

_And heaven accept you when it's time to go home_

_May you always have plenty, the glass never empty_

_And know in your belly, you're never alone_

_May your tears come from laughing, you find friends worth having_

_As every year passes, they mean more than gold_

_May you win and stay humble, smile more than grumble_

_And know when you stumble, you're never alone_

_Never alone, never alone_

_I'll be in every beat of your heart when you face the unknown_

_Wherever you fly, this isn't goodbye_

_My love will follow you, stay with you, baby you're never alone_

_Well, I have to be honest as much as I want it_

_I'm not goanna promise, the cold winds won't blow_

_So when hard times have found you and your fears surround you_

_Wrap my love around you, you're never alone." _That may not be where the song stops, but, hey he didn't know that!

After I finished my song, Buck was looking at me, weird. Kinda like when I met Ben, and I sang concrete angel for him and Ray, Buck had the same look as they did.

"Is that the kind you meant?" I asked, avoiding silence.

"Perfect." Buck answered, "You've got a beautiful voice."

I blushed hard, "Thanks."

Just then, the plate we were stepping onto collapsed underneath us, I yelped, and instinctively wrapped my arms around Buck. I hoped we wouldn't get killed, well, duh, but anyways… we reached the ground, both unharmed, still holding onto each other. And, I won't lie to anyone here, I was enjoying it.

"Are you okay?" I asked, looking up at Buck. I tried to force a smile, and succeeded, but it was a shaky one. In fact, my whole body was shaking like a leaf.

"Are you? God, you're trembling like a mouse."

"Thanks." I said flatly, but my smile didn't fade, I was too happy to be in Buck's arms. Come to think of it, I couldn't remember the last time anyone had held me like that.

Buck looked around, and then released me. "Well, good thing we made it out of that one! We could have died!"

"Thanks Buck, that's really comforting." I said in a shaky voice, trying to stand.

Buck looked worried, "Sit for a minute, I'll find the weapons."

"Okay, thank you, for reals this time." I answered, smiling at him.

Buck smiled back, and with that he turned and went to find our defenses, I watched him run off on all fours. "_That was rude of me"_ I thought, "_me and my frickin' moodiness!" _I yelled in my head, "_Why did I have to be like that? Buck is so sweet and I got mad at him over-" _

"Found 'em!" Buck yelled, interrupting my mind-rant. He held out a hand to help me up, I took it. He gave me my sphere, and I held it on the opposite side from Buck, so not to accidentally stab him or cut him or anything like that.

"I bet if we hustle, we can get ya home before noon, if you'd like." I remembered that soon we would be to the pterodactyls were, soon I'd be home.

"Maybe… you know, Buck, the herd really really misses you a lot. And I bet they would be thrilled if they got to see you again." I said quietly.

Buck looked surprised, "Is that an invitation?" he grinned.

"That depends, if it were would you say yes?" I answered with a little smile. Buck nodded, my heart soared. "That's great! Everyone will be so excited!" at this point, I was actually jumping up and down and clapping like Sophie did. "You don't know how happy they all will be when they see you! And, I am really happy you decided to come with me." I blushed, again, that's a problem of mine and it always has been.

"You are?" was he really asking me this? Uh, yeah I meant it! Duh!

"Of course, I actually wanted to ask you for a while." I said shyly.

"Thanks. Well, here we are!" Buck stopped dead. We were on a cliff, in fact, the same one him, Crash, and Eddie were on in the movie!

"Oh, I see. This is where we jump off the cliff?"

"Yep, in fact, our ride's here!" Buck grabbed my hand and went running off the edge, yelling wildly.

We landed on a green, bulgy-eyed pterodactyl, and buck slug a whip made from a vine between the beast's jaws. Once I stood up on the dino's back, I nearly fell off, so I wrapped my arms around Buck's torso, so to keep my balance.

I looked around; the scenery was beautiful, gorgeous. The sun was almost visible at some places in the ice ceiling, making it look a peachy color. The waterfalls that were attached to the ice ceiling looked much prettier with the noon light shining on them, making a small rainbow.

"Wow," I sighed dreamily, resting my head on Buck's shoulder.

"Pretty huh?" Buck asked, I immediately moved my head and released him.

"Yeah, the best scenery I've ever seen… it's magnificent."

Buck chuckled, "We should make this a regular thing."

"Yeah, we should… but with more mortal peril! I don't think you almost got us killed enough." I said, chuckling a bit. "I think next time I'll bring Crash and Eddie, they'll insure such!"

"I bet they will, oh, we're coming in for our landing, hold on." he didn't have to tell me twice! I held onto him once more, as we softly landed right back where I had started.

"I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they see you!" remember that frickin'… thing from chapter two? He's baaaack! Yep, that dumb whatever had come back for more! But now I had Buck and a weapon… I was frickin' unstoppable! At least that's what I was lead to believe.

Buck and I did fine for the first half, until Buck decided to be perky and retarded! The moron actually took a hit for me! Claws all down his side and a bite on the arm! Yeah, the total package and a free knock-out. I was so enraged, protective, full of hatred, that thing had just hurt Buck! I was so pissed off at that moment that I came up next to it and gave it a nice right hook! Then I proceeded to, while the thing was down, stab it about where I had estimated its heart to be with my sphere. And then -come on, the first predator I ever killed, I needed a souvenir! I did a little, dental work on it. Meaning I took one of its smaller teeth, a dull one.

"Buck, Buck, are you okay? Oh, Buck please wake up!" I pleaded, shaking him slightly, almost crying. I put my ear to his chest and listened, he was unconscious, but alive. He was breathing, but slowly, if he were to stop breathing I would have to return the favor from earlier. I took some leaves and wrapped his wounds, then I tried carrying him into the cave, then I would be able to get real help. I couldn't fully carry him because he was… well to be perfectly honest he was a good sized male and I was a week petit female! Anyway, I drug him most of the way, being careful not to drag him on his wounds. Buck mumbled a few times, something about a brontosaurus.

Once we were in the cave I had come through, I got a small fire going, so to keep Buck warm while I found the closest herd member, or at least Sophie, who didn't live far from there.

"Hey girl, you're back early!" I heard Sophie say, heaven had smiled upon me for… about the twentieth time in the past three days.

"Soph, thank the lord! I need your help!"

"Dude, slow down you're goanna start hyperventilating!"

"Come on, he's in this cave, and he's hurt real bad." I said, grabbing her arm and dragging her into the cave.

"Shut up! You met someone already? Girl you are a come-back-kid aren't you?" Sophie asked once she saw Buck.

I was the color of a tomato, "No- I mean it's not… we're just- but it would be great if, no…" I stuttered, really embarrassed. "Okay, do you remember when the herd went to that underground world of dinosaurs?" Sophie nodded. "Well this is Buck, the Buck!"

"You lie!" Sophie said, staring at me in disbelief.

"Nope, I tell the truth! He got hurt when we were supposedly 'home free' and I need your help, you're the nurse here!"

"Okay, okay, sheash."

"I'm goanna go get somebody." I informed her.

"What if he wakes up?" Sophie whined.

"I'll be right back Sophie." and before she could protest any further, I ran off to find a herd member.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"Boys! Diego!" I yelled, seeing the boys picking on Diego, splashing him with water, the poor thing. He _can_ swim, but that doesn't mean he's not still afraid of water!

"Suzy! What's up?" from Crash.

"Guys, I got a little surprise, but I need ya'll to fallow me!" I said pointing in the direction of the cave where I had left Buck and Sophie.

Once we reached the cave, I warned the boys, "Okay, listen up! My surprise guest is hurt, really bad, so no hugs."

The boys promised, and I led them into the cave where their 'master's' wounds were being treated by Sophie. "BUCK!" the boys yelled in unison, Sophie shushed them, so did I.

"Diego, once Soph's done with his treatment, I need you to help us carry him home, I'll tell you all the story when we get there." Diego nodded.

"I doubt he'll be in much pain for too long, and he'll wake up soon." Sophie informed us. "There, finished, come get 'im D." Sophie always called Diego D. I don't know why. Probably because, like me, she had the mentality of a thirteen year-old.

We lifted buck onto Diego's back, and set off, putting out the fire before we left. I walked close to Diego, clutching Buck's knife, Sophie's arm was linked with my free one. Crash held my sphere, and Eddie held the tooth that I got from the… whatever it was.

We were all worried, despite what Sophie had told us. The boys worried for their master, Diego worried for his friend, and I worried for, dare I, my crush. There I said it! I feel like such a frickin' teenaged girl!

When we arrived at the cave, everyone else was there, even little Peaches.

"Whoa! Is that who I think it is?" asked Sid.

"Yup." I answered shortly.

"What- how- when- where?" Manny stuttered.

"Okay, okay, listen. I will tell the whole story, just simmer down with the trivia k?"

Nobody asked me anything else. We all got into our little nightly routine, Sid made a fire, crash and Eddie bugged Sophie, who decided to stay, and I made sure to stay by buck's side. The mammoth trio did their thing, getting peaches ready for supper and bedtime. Speaking of supper, I had to make Sure Sophie ate something, she was balsamic, or anorexic. She didn't eat unless someone made her, and since we were so close, she would always eat for me.

"Soph, you wanna grab a bite before I tell the story?" that was more of a command than a question, with that tone anyways, she knew that tone meant I was going to make her either way.

"Okay, but don't you want to keep your spot next to Buck?" Sophie teased, was pretty sure she was the only one who knew I had the hots for Buck.

I turned eleven shades of red, "You know what I mean, bumble bee." I called her that because she was deathly afraid of anything bee like.

"Okay okay, be right back Suze." she answered, going into the forest to get a meal, she'd probably snack on the smallest mouse she could find, typical.

"Is that uncle Buck?" Peaches asked. God she was so little, so sweet.

"Yes honey, this is your uncle Buck. but he's sleeping right now, so we have to be quiet, you can meat him in the morning." I said, trying to keep the sadness from showing in my voice, I did, but my eyes made up for it.

"Okay." peaches went over to sit with he mother on the other side of the fire. "Can we please hear the story now auntie Suzan?"

"Okay well it all started when I left to go…" bla bla bla, you know the story, but I may have left out the parts where I was cuddling Buck, where he was holding me on the plates of woe, etcetera.

"…And that's how it all happened." I finished. I knew the herd had been through a more interesting adventure, but they seemed to enjoy listening.

"Hey, girls, it's Peaches' bed time, would you two sing her a lullaby?" Ellie asked, me and Sophie sang together all the time, we were kind of the karaoke sisters, only not blood related.

"Sure!" we said in unison, "Jinx!" we said, also in unison, then slapped each other's knees.

"Witch one should we sing?" Sophie asked, I leaned in and whispered the song's name into her ear, it was one of our all time favorites, mostly because we were good at singing it. "Perfect!" she jumped up and down and clapped, typical Sophie.

"_I set out on a narrow way many years ago_

_Hoping I would find true love, along the broken road_

_But I got lost a time or two_

_Wiped my brow and kept pushing through_

_I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you_

_[chorus]_

_Every long lost dream led me to where you are_

_Others who broke my heart they were like northern stars_

_Pointing me on my way into your loving arms_

_This much I know is true_

_That god blessed the broken road_

_That led me straight to you_

_I think about the years I spent, just passing through,_

_I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you_

_But you just smile and take my hand_

_you've been there you understand_

_It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true_

_[chorus]_

_Now I'm just rolling home _

_Into my lover's arms_

_This much I know is true_

_That god blessed the broken road _

_That led me straight to you_

_That god blessed the broken road_

_That led me straight to you."_

when we finished, a voice said, "Am I in heaven?" I turned and saw that Buck was awake, "Am I dead?"

"No, what makes you think that?" Sophie asked.

"Well there's angels singing, and the last things I saw before I blacked out were claws, teeth, and blood."

Sophie and I giggled, I know I was giggling at the "angels singing" part, but Sophie was probably cracking up at the second part, she loved dark humor.

"BUCK!" the twins called, now everyone was say hello and how much they missed him, just like I said they would.

"We missed you sooo much!" Eddie said, he was the first to hug Buck, who looked happy, yet uncomfortable with the physical contact.

"You were right, Suzy cue. They did miss me." Buck said, sitting down next to me.

"Suzy cue?" Sophie whispered in a teasing, sing song tone.

"Shut your face about my nickname." I yell/whispered. "I told you they'd been missing you." I said aloud, this time talking to buck.

"So, Buck, do you plan to make an honest woman of my sista?" she did not! Why that little #*%!

I was beet red and glaring daggers at Sophie, "Sophie!"

Buck's eye was wide, and his face was red under his fur, "We aren't- I mean I would never- unless… I mean we-"

"Oooh, I get it! Awkward!" from Sophie, I put both hands on my face and fell backwards.

"I will get you for this!" I hissed, where only Sophie could hear, and I sat up. Everyone was looking at us, witch didn't help a bit.

"Hey, Buck how bout all of us guys go show you around!" Sid intervened, thank god, I'd have to thank him later. All the males agreed and left.

"Exactly what was that?" I half yelled once the guys were gone.

"You like him!" Sophie accused.

"Liar! Okay, maybe a little bit, but, you didn't have to say it in front of everyone! You know how much I hate being embarrassed! And another thing, why did you do that to Buck? Did you see his face? He was horrified!"

"Can I say something?" Ellie asked, I had forgotten that she was here. "If you like him, why don't you tell him? I mean I know you just met, but I think he likes you too."

"You mean it Ell?" I asked, hope rushing back into my system.

"Sure, the cute nick name, sitting so close to you, and I know you didn't see it, but the look on his face when he saw you singing…" my heart soared. I didn't believe what she was telling me, but it made me feel good that someone thought that, besides Sophie loud-mouth.

"Thanks Ell, that means a lot, I wonder if Buck knows now… Sophie!"

"Hey, get off my tail! You know you like him, but you're just insecure 'cause your first boyfriend cheated before he even bothered to kiss you!" that stung, bad. It was dead-on, but it hurt the way she said it.

I felt my ears lower, "I'll see you guys in the morning." and with that I walked off into the forest.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Ray had a hollow tree not too far from there, and he was nocturnal, so he wouldn't mind if I stayed there for the night. Tears fell freely as I slinked over to the tree and climbed up to the hole where you enter it.

Suddenly, I heard Buck's voice, accompanied by many others, including Ray's. Yeah, I was eves dropping, what of it? I wanted to hear exactly what busieness Ray had talking to Buck and the guys.

"And then Sophie asked me when I'd make an honest woman of her." Buck said, great, he was talking about it!

"Well," Ray's Voice "When will ya?" oh my god!

"Shut up! I don't even know if she thinks of me like that." was Buck's response.

"Of course she does!" from Sid. "Didn't you see how she was staring at you?" lies! Okay maybe that part is true.

"Yeah dude! And she wouldn't leave your side the whole time!" Crash added.

"Uh huh, and she wouldn't let anyone touch your knife!" Eddie threw in.

"What, she didn't do anything that makes you think she likes you when you guys were all alone in Dinotopia?" Manny asked.

"Well," _oh god, he's goanna tell them isn't he? Busted! _I thought. "When we were on the pterodactyl, she wrapped her arms around my torso and rested her head on my shoulder. Does that count?" _damn it!_

"Whoa buddy, she didn't tell us that!" _Diego I officially hate you!_

"She didn't?" Buck asked. _frickin' clueless!_

"I think you should go for it. You like her, she likes you, what's the hold up?" _Diego I officially love you!_

"Who says I like her?" _*Crack* yup, that was my heart._

"Seriously?" Sid paused, "You're kidding, right?"

"Oh god. Here it comes, the whole "She completes you" speal!" Manny said, he sounded irritated, but I couldn't see his face.

"Hey, I got you and Ellie together, so don't be giving me crap!" _oh, burn! Score one for the floppy green thing!_

"Then why are you single?" _oh, back-burn! And the score's all tied up!_

"Touché Manfred!" Sid said in a bad French accent.

"Guys, I believe we were talking about buck!" Eddie interrupted.

"Thanks a lot." Buck said flatly. "Guys, I promise that I'll tell her, just not now, we just met ya know! She'd kill me or worse, if she can give a dino a right hook and a stab in the chest, god only knows what she could do to me!" with that, the boys dispersed. I'm sure Buck was just trying to get the guys to shut the hell up, but I was so full of bliss that I had forgotten all about my fight with Sophie. So I decided to follow them back to camp… and maybe eves drop a little bit more.

As I stated, I followed the men like a squa, ten paces behind them, and stayed hidden. Once the guys got back, Ellie told them about what had happened, and how I was just on a walk cooling off. Now one mentioned the conversation the boys had, so I figured it was time for me to come back from my cool-down walk.

"Hey you guys, I'm back, sorry for being gone for so long." I said, entering freely.

"Are you okay?" Crash asked. I didn't know what he meant, then I realized that I had been crying, so you could probably tell.

"I'm okay." I waved it off.

"You sure?" Buck asked.

I sat down in between him and the boys, "I'm sure." I answered, and the truth was, I wasn't okay, I wasn't sure, and I was doubtful. My heart was breaking because of several things, because of what Sophie had said, because everyone in the herd knew that I liked Buck, and because I didn't know how Buck felt about me. Life is a beach, the sand gets in your toes and you just end up getting pissed off!

Peaches was asleep, and Sid was bugging Diego about something. I wont lie to you, I was glimpsing at buck every time no one was looking, and I got caught once, that's when the boys decided to completely screw me!

"Well we're goanna turn in early." Crash said, nudging his twin. I knew what they were trying, rascally devils.

"Yeah, Manny, Diego, we should get to sleep too, we got that… thing tomorrow." Sid added.

Buck was glaring daggers at them, he caught on to what they were doing too. I can't say I wasn't pleased with what was going on, but it was a little awkward. I had a plan though, I'd wait until the guys were actually asleep. Come one, you can't tell me you expected them to _actually_ be asleep.

"Pretty night, huh?" Buck asked. _okay, plan fail._

"Yeah, a full moon too." a answered, sighing a little.

"I can't remember the last time I saw stars." Buck said quietly.

"Well, we should go star-gazing more often then, on nights like this one. It's perfect, crystal clear. As pretty as it gets." I stared dreamily at the night sky, and caught a quick glance at Buck, his sapphire eye practically glowed in the lighting.

"Yeah, we should. I bet we could get something like that started up every few weeks." my heart swelled, did that mean he'd come back and visit?

"I'd like that." without thinking, without having to think, I rested my head on his shoulder.

A few minutes passed, and I was getting tired, and I sure as hell didn't want a repeat of last time I fell asleep next to Buck. "Well," I started, standing up, Buck stood up too. "Goodnight, wouldn't want to oversleep would I? I mean, we got that "Thing" tomorrow." I said, giggling a bit. I still can't believe I did this, but, I leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. I must be crazy! I turned and went to the corner of the cave where I usually slept, and said one final, "Goodnight Buck"

"Goodnight Suzy cue." _that tares it! I'm in love! __J_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

"Good morning all!" I said cheerily, I guess I was just still perky from the night before.

"Mornin' Suzy cue!" Buck was the first to great me, and I guess we were the only two up.

"Lovely day huh?" I asked, smiling sweetly.

"Sure is, want to go for a walk?" sweet!

"I'd love to." I answered.

We left the cave and started walking in some odd direction, and I really didn't care where we went. I mean, at least we were alone. I wanted to be open and honest with him today, to tell him how I really felt, but I was chicken okay. I really did want to tell him, but I didn't know how to do it. It would all work out in the end, that's what I told myself, but it wouldn't be true until I made it work out.

"Pretty sunrise huh?" I said, looking to break the silence.

"Yeah it's-" Buck was interrupted by a thud, and crash half-yelling, "Crap! Dude!"

My head swung in the direction of his voice, "Dude! I knew I should've brought Diego!" Eddie said, punching his twin on the shoulder.

"Boys! What in god's good name are you two doing?" I asked, shocked that they were actually spying on me and Buck! Doing what right? That's why I got so ticked off!

"Uh, we were just… RUN!" Crash said, with that, they boys ran off like two scared little kids… smart boys.

"Ugh! They drive me bananas!" I groaned.

"Why do you think I left this morning?" Buck asked, chuckling a bit.

Why was I offended by this? Probably because I thought he left this morning because he wanted to walk with _me_. This was why I didn't have crushes, I love too much! Witch is a total (insert un-politically correct word) because we moved all the time, and I got attached to people who I had to leave behind. (Ray: Whoa, deep. Asia: Get out of my house!)

The offence didn't show in my voice, but it was made up for with disappointment. "Well, I better go find Sophie. We had a little fight, and I hate it when we're mad at each other." I excused myself and went to find my friend.

"Sophie? Soph! bumble beeeee?" I called, twirling around looking for her.

"Hey, girl what's up?" her voice was coming from behind me.

"O M G! I love you!" I yelled, wrapping her in a bear hug.

"Get off me! What's with you? I thought you were mad at me." did I mention Sophie wasn't a hugger? We both usually weren't.

"That's why I love you!" I gave her another tight squeeze, then released her, but still held her hands. "If you hadn't made me so… emotionally imbalanced, I wouldn't have eves dropped on the boys! And if that had never happened, I wouldn't have kissed Buck on the cheek."

"O M G! you need to start communicating with me more! Start by telling me how he tasted." she gave me a sly grin and a wink.

"I kissed him on the _cheek_ Sophie… but it was sweet!" I was suddenly bubbly.

"You are so in there!"

"Okay, first of all nobody says that anymore. And second, no, I only want to be good friends with him for now, but sooner or later, I will be! And if that one slutty chick… what was her name?"

"Christa, yuck, I fricking hate her!" Sophie made a discussed face.

"That's two of us, and if she tries anything I'll need you to hold my necklace whilst I kick her-"

"I get it… can't we just do that anyways?"

I thought about her little clique, and how she was the one Cameron cheated with, "Thinking about it!"

"Good, think harder!" Sophie laughed and snorted a bit, she was picking up on that from me. She slapped a hand over her nose and mouth, making me roll on the ground laughing and snorting… proudly!

"Okay bumble bee, you gotta admit, if you're not goanna snort, why laugh?" I giggled.

"That's your opinion, it's cuter when you do it!" She laughed again, this time stifling the snort… jerk.

"Okay girl, I gotta go find Sid really quick."

"Why?"

"_You_ said I was in there!" I gave her the same sly grin as she gave me, all she did was give me a thumbs-up and a head nod. We both knew Sid was the 'love doctor'.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

"Sid, Sid?" I called, finding that Sid had just woken up.

"Good morning Suze!" Sid cracked his spine. "What's up?"

"Can I talk to you?" I motioned for him to follow with my head. I didn't want to talk to him in front of everyone, meaning Buck and the twins.

"Sure, what about?" he was making this harder.

"Something." I answered, trying not to sound as embarrassed as I was. Sid didn't argue, he just followed me out. Buck kept on lecturing the boys about how to use knives or something.

Once we were far enough away, I finally got down to what it was that I wanted to get to.

"So, Sid… I heard you got Manny and Ellie together, didn't you?" he nodded. "Well, do you think you could give me your professional opinion on something?"

"Sure, anything." he shrugged.

"Do you think… Buck likes me?" I got really quiet with those last two words, I suddenly felt really shy.

Sid looked like he had just solved a long-forgotten murder case, "You like him!"

"Maybe." I turned red, visible through the light spots in my fur.

"Well he does, and I'll set you up with him!" he grinned.

"What? No no no no no! absolutely not! No! Please don't! I really just want to keep it between me and him, I only wanted to be sure." I sounded really mellow dramatic. "Damn it, you're smart!"

"Okay okay, fine. But you two-"

"Complete each other?"

"Don't step on my lines! And yes."

"Just promise me, okay?" I asked, sort of whining.

"Okay, I promise." he didn't sound amused.

"Swear?" I asked cautiously, with warning hinting in my voice.

"I swear." he didn't seam happy. I didn't care a smidge though, I just wanted to keep this under wraps.

"Thank you, I respect your maturity." Asia is lying!

"Thanks!" he gave me a goofy grin.

"Your welcome. Now, I've gotta go find Tigey Wigey." I excused myself, looking to find Diego.

"Yo, Tigey Wigey!" I half yelled, seeing Diego talking to some other saber, I knew the guy, I'd met him when he introduced him to the herd.

"Hey, Suzan. What's up?" he asked nonchalantly, the other saber looked at me, that's when I realized it wasn't the same one I'd met, but I did recognize him.

"Not much, who's your friend?"

"This is Zeke." he answered shortly. Zeke smiled at me, it was funny, he had a cute smile, for a saber anyways. He didn't smile at all that I can remember in the movie, unless it was evilly or hungrily.

"Hi Zeke." I said politely, waving at him a little with my usual sweet smile.

"Hi." his response was short, and he sounded shy… or maybe he was just trying hard not to maul me.

"Well I don't want to interrupt, I just wanted to tell you that I'll cook tonight if you want, since we have more than one meat eater…" I glanced at Zeke, his ribs were showing. I bet my right hand he didn't get enough to eat because he was smaller than the rest. "Zeke, would you care to join us? You look starved."

Zeke looked longingly at Diego, as if silently begging him for permission to take the invitation. After a long moment, Diego nodded.

"I'd love to." Zeke answered, seaming happy.

"Great. Diego, me and Buck will go fishing, but if you two want to go hunting before, you can. Just don't fill up. I'll see you guys later." I waved to them and walked away slowly.

While walking away, I overheard- shut up Ray. Anyways, I overheard Zeke and Diego. I may have hidden behind a tree and listened to them, maybe. Okay I did.

I overheard Zeke saying, "Why would she invite me?" and, "I'm a saber she doesn't know for god's sake, didn't you tell her about the whole Soto thing?" and Diego telling him, "I did, and she's just that nice. Compassionate, caring, she was probably worried about you." I left after that, it made me feel good that he said that, and I assured myself that I didn't need to hear any more.

"Crash, Eddie, Buck!" I called, trying to find them.

"What's up dudet?" Crash's voice. He emerged from a hole in the ground, his twin right behind him.

"Not much dudes, accept, I need a favor if you would."

"What kinda favor?" Buck was suddenly two inches from my face, upside-down with a crooked grin. I yelped and fell backwards. Crash and Eddie were cracking up. I could have gotten mad, but that would be immature, it _was_ pretty funny anyways.

I laughed and snorted, "Okay, that was, that was a good one. I'll take that."

"Sorry if I scared ya lass." Buck said, coming down from the tree branch he was hanging from. He held out a hand to help me up. I took it.

"No prob. I was just looking for you guys, we got company tonight, so I need some though guys to help me go hill Billie hand fishin." I crossed my arms and smiled slyly. "Interested?"

"Yeah, count us in!" Eddie said, the boys both struck muscle poses.

"What about you Buck?" I asked.

"Sure, how're the fish up here? Big? Dangerous?" Buck seemed to be getting more excited.

I chuckled, "They're okay, but they won't stand a chance against all of us, huh dudes?" I looked at crash and Eddie.

"Yeah, we got the total package! Us, Buck, and uh, YOU!" now it was Crash.

I giggled, "Well I guess we're unstoppable then."

Buck smiled, in just his regular wild-eyed smiley face. A sweet, crooked grin. "When are we going?"

"Sundown. We'll need about four or five fish, 'cause we have another saber who needs a good meal, he's probably going to be shy, so be nice. Oh, and if Sid tells you that he kicked his ass, he's not lying." I laughed, "His name is Zeke, you two remember him from the story Manny and Sid and Diego told. Don't you?"

The boys thought for a moment, then Crash said, "That skinny, mangy, slightly mental one?"

"Crash!" I scolded, "Be nice, mage is a medical condition. The skinniness is caused by him not getting enough food, he's the smallest adult male, I think. And there is not a thing wrong with being only slightly mental!" I darted my eyes at Buck, Crash took the hint. "Okay. I'm sorry for being mother goose here, but be polite, he is just another guest." The boys nodded.

"Sorry, that's just how Sid described him, and he said he was a bad guy…" Eddie drew circles in the dirt with his foot.

"It's okay. He _was_ part of the bad guy's forces, but so were Lenny and Oscar, and they are both a part of this pack now. And they are no longer bad guys." I smiled, "Okay, now that you guys understand Zeke, and his purpose for coming over, I'm goanna go find Sophie. Thanks a bunch guys!" and with that, I walked off from the herd's cave to go find Sophie.

After that I found Sophie, arguing with her older brother, Jared. We talked about what was going on tonight, Zeke, fishing, yadda yadda yadda. She didn't want to come over because another saber would be there, I gave her crap about it, but she wouldn't budge. I guess I'd be alone on karaoke Tuesday.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Once the afternoon finally rolled around, I went to the river to meat the boys and Buck. I couldn't wait, it would be fun to go fishing, I hadn't done that in a while, and I'd never gone hand-fishing. I was sure I'd find Crash and Eddie bugging Buck about when we were starting, or how long it would take, or some other crap like that. What I did see though, made me see red…

"So, where are you from cutie?" asked Christa in a fake-sweet tone.

"Uh… I'm from Dinotopia, you know, I have plans right now…" Buck said, backing up from her.

Christa moved closer to him, "Like what?" she asked.

"Fishing, with my, uh… girlfriend!" That confused me, but also reassured me that Christa didn't have a chance.

She looked as if she would vomit, the bleached blonde priss was red with anger, "Who's your girlfriend?" she said through her teeth.

"Uh… there she is!" he pointed right at… ME! Insanity!

"Her?" now she looked horrified.

"Yep, she's my Suzy cue. What're you doing here so early love?" he gave me a one eyed wink, signaling for me to play along.

"Just here to see my man!" I said sweetly, trying my best not to sound as surprised, and giddy, as I was. I wrapped my arms around Buck, and nuzzled under his chin with my head, like I'd seen couples do in the black-and-whites.

Christa looked enraged as Buck put his arm around me. Crash and Eddie, who were watching, looked at us with wide eyes and dropped jaws.

"Temper temper Christina." I grinned evilly.

"Fine! You're not exactly the most attractive, _Cyclops_!" she screamed, now this was cause for a catfight!

"Buck, hold my necklace!" I took off the necklace Ray had given me, handed it to Buck, and slapped Christa across the face, hard! The bitch deserved it, using the word Cyclops was going too far! Christa fell to the ground, and now Buck mimicked the boys' shocked look. "Shut your sorry, slutty, used-merchandise, mouth!" I yelled, Christa stood up and ran off… Smart girl.

"Oh, my, GOD!" the twins said in unison, coming over to me and saying a million things at once. Like, "You two are dating?" and, "That was awesome how you slapped her!" or, "Oh, my, god… was she coming onto Buck?"

"Boys, boys calm down! I will answer your questions in order, no, yes it was, and yes, but I do not suggest her doing it again." I grinned, "She had it coming to her from, "Where are you from cutie", didn't she?"

"She sure did!" Crash high-fived me. "But… why?"

I turned bright red, "Well, uh, ern… she would've hurt Buck. And, she's got a bad rep already… and, I'm sure Buck didn't appreciate it..." the boys nodded understandingly, I looked at Buck, smiling embarrassedly.

Buck shook his head, "You- she- what- when- who- why-… was she coming onto me?" I saw him blush beneath the lighter fur on his face.

"Yeah, she's sort of the type to do that… don't bother, spare yourself the heartbreak." I warned, "Now, can we get back to fishing please?"

"That would be great." Buck sounded relieved, I know I sure was.

We started by getting into the water and letting the fish get used to us, small brains ya know. I was a lot better than I thought I would be, I caught one no problem. I mean, I had to wrestle it a little bit, and Buck helped by killing it while I held it still. Buck caught two all by himself, no problamo. And Crash and Eddie, well… they took a beating from a trout. First, Crash tried jumping at it, and it jumped and hit Eddie in the face with it's tail, Buck and I fell on the ground laughing hysterically.

"Hey, it's not funny!" Crash whined, rubbing the back of his head. He'd hit a rock or something, and now it was bleeding a little.

I regained a straight face right away, "Oh, are you okay?" I looked at the back of his head, it looked okay, but it looked painful too. I hissed like my mom did when she saw a bad cut or bruise. "Here, I can fix this." I found a soft leaf and cleaned his cut. Then, once I was sure it was clean, I kissed it all motherly.

"Yuck!" Crash wiped off the back of his head.

I laughed, "Well you're only rubbing it in." I grinned, "Sorry, mother goose again."

Eddie chuckled, "Hey, mother goose, Buck cut his lip." he moved his eyebrows up and down. Buck looked embarrassed.

I was as red as a Coke can, "Why don't _you_ help him out then." I grinned slyly.

"That, that was a good burn, I'll take that." Eddie shook my hand, he usually did when he took burns, which he rarely did.

"Okay, I think we need one more, whatta you think Buck?" I turned to him.

"I would think so too." Buck grinned wildly, "I got my eye on a big one!" he pointed at the water, a big salmon swimming around sluggishly.

"I'll take the left, you go on the right. Eddie, you go in the middle, we'll force it into a corner."

"What do I do?" Crash asked eagerly.

"Uh, no. You need to stay out of the water." I warned, "That cut might get infected and then you'll really be screwed."

Crash didn't argue, but he did mumble under his breath. He griped and sat on a stone, waiting for us to get done catching the fish. I giggled to myself, _I remember when I was immature._

The fish was not easy, I tell you! Me and buck both had to hold it while _Eddie_ killed it, and that sucker had a will to live! It fought and squirmed and didn't quit until we actually killed it! Crash was ticked off that he didn't get to help, so Buck just let him carry a fish, I thought it was funny. Buck carried the biggest one, witch really surprised me, 'cause it was almost as big as him! I got stuck with carrying the smallest one, but I carried Buck's knife to make up for it. _This was fun, I think we should totally make it a regular thing._


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Once we got to the cave, I started with the cooking, and, of coarse, Manny had a million questions about why I was cooking tonight. We told him and Ellie about our dinner guest, and Manny wasn't exactly 'thrilled' about it. I assured him that Zeke had changed, in fact, he was never bad at all, just under the influence of Soto.

"… and then, Suzy back handed her in the face! It was awesome, Buck had to hold her necklace." Eddie said, fisting the air, pretending to be fighting.

I blushed lightly, he made it seem so dramatic. "It wasn't all that great, I was just defending my best mate." I said the word mate in a British accent, sounding like Buck. I lightly punched Buck on the shoulder, "After all, that's what ya do in a herd." my words caught Manny's attention, he looked like I had read his mind or something.

"Yeah, well, it was still awesome, lady's got nerve!"

"Crash, I think we've known each other long enough for you to know, I am not a lady!" we all laughed.

Suddenly, Diego appeared in the cave entrance, Zeke following close behind him. "Everyone, this is Ezekiel." I almost giggled at Zeke's full name.

"Call me Zeke." he said quietly, waving a little.

"Zeke," I said like we were old friends, "I'm glad you could make it! Come on in, don't be shy." I was making up for the lack of anyone else greeting him. He gave me a half-hearted smile.

"Buck!" Yep, he just had to didn't he? Zeke was taken aback, "Short for Buckminster, long for buh!" he shook Zeke's hand… paw, whatever.

"Hi, nice to meet you." Zeke said, sounding uncomfortable, and slightly horrified.

"And you. Boys," he motioned for crash and Eddie, who came over and introduced themselves.

"Ellie, I'm goanna go pick up Peaches and Sid, unless…" Manny's voice trailed off.

"Manny," Ellie warned, "Crash, Eddie, Can you two go get them?"

The boys nodded and ran off to get the two. I knew what Manny was trying to do, and it offended me, it was like him not trusting Buck, or Diego.

"Smells great." Zeke inhaled deeply through the nose.

"Thanks, hope you like salmon, this one's nice and juicy, maybe a little though, but still good." I answered, shifting the fish's position on the stone on witch it was cooking.

"I sure do… Diego, member when we were cubs, and you tried to catch that salmon…?" he grinned devilishly, and I could have sworn his ears looked just like Scratte's devil horns. "Shall I tell the story?"

"You shall!" I agreed.

"Whoa whoa whoa, I don't think that's-" Diego started, I cut him off.

"I do. Zeke, do tell, I want the boys to hear the story too."

"What story?" Sid asked, entering the cave, Peaches and the boys right beside him.

"Tell it, Zeke." I said again.

"Okay, okay. So me and Diego are cubs right? And we decide to get cocky and catch some fish. We get to the river, and we get in the water. Diego, believe it or not, was smaller than me. I just thought he was staying under the water to look for the fish, but… when I looked under the water, I see a salmon has Diego's hind leg in his mouth."

Everyone but Diego was laughing their butts off, including me. "Is that why Tigey Wigey was afraid of water?" Sid asked in a baby voice. Diego's paw was wrapped around Sid's neck in a second, he growled angrily.

"No, that's not why." Diego stated, remarkably calmly.

"Okay! Okay, now we know why." Sid said (even though we didn't know), trying to free himself. Diego released him after some begging.

"Yeah, he hated salmon after that." Zeke said with a chuckle.

"I got over it." Diego said, taking a bite of the fish.

After supper Zeke had to leave, but he said he would come and visit whenever we wanted him to. That night I sang along, ate alone, all cause Sophie wouldn't get over herself. Buck had to go back to Dinotopia after a few more days, but I swore I would come see him, and promised the herd I would bring him back every now and then. Life was good, just another day in paradise.

(Author's Note)

Thank you thank you, no applause, please, ha ha.


End file.
